“Seasons of Love” by Jonathan Larson

The morning the musical “Rent” was about to make its off-Broadway premiere, its creator, 35-year-old Jonathan Larson, died unexpectedly of an aortic dissection. The show, a rock-opera based on Puccini’s La Boheme, did go on that night— but not in front of a public audience as planned. The shocked cast mourned the loss of Larson by first, simply reading through the show and then breaking out into full staging during the musical’s second act.

The official preview debuted the next evening, January 26, 1996.

That year, Larson’s “Rent” moved on to Broadway and received the 1996 Tony for Best Musical, along with Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.

Larson’s lyrics to “Seasons of Love” — “Rent’s” signature song — brings up the question of how to assess the days that add up to the years and decades of our lives. His sudden passing just hours before what would have been one of his most triumphant moments, reminds us just how fragile each day can be, regardless of whether that day is extraordinary or everyday.

The musical drama’s characters — struggling, homeless artists and outcasts living in NYC — share love and loss as their year unfolds.

525,600 minutes
525,000 moments so dear
525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In 525,600 minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?

In the stage version, “Seasons of Love” falls at the beginning and middle of Act II in context with what already happened in Act I — the breakup of a couple as the girl owns up to her true gender identity and moves on to a female love interest. The song also foreshadows an event in Act II.

In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died

The full cast next questions how to assess not just one year but decades’ worth, singing “How do you measure the life of a woman or man?” Their answer is worth repeating.

How about love?
How about love?
How about love?

I lost a friend this week, a long-lived man who measured his days by solving New York Times crossword puzzles, his weeks by woodworking projects and his months by the sport in season — all of which his obituary acknowledged. Still, the greatest measure of his life today is being shared in the stories of his love and support of his family. Looking at photos of him playing with his children over 50 years ago to current ones displaying his positive delight in his grandchildren, there is no doubt his legacy is measured in great love.

The life stories of “Rent’s” characters remind us that the love we express in our lives need not be as traditional as my friend’s. Nevertheless, it is our unconditional and unselfish affection for one another that ultimately measures our conventional or unconventional lives.

A live musical production of RENT will air Sunday, January 27, 2019, (8:00-11:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. Here is the Broadway cast from years past performing “Season of Love.” Check your local listings to see the latest rendition of Rent this weekend.